Undertale: Chronicle - 7 - Resurfacing
by TheOriginalTale
Summary: In the years that have passed since monsters returned to the surface, everything seems to have settled down. It is time for an old friend to once more enter the spotlight, and either reclaim who he was, or adjust to what he has become. Yet another chapter in the Undertale: Chronicle AU.
1. The Flower In the Ruins

Frisk grunted as he reached the top of the trail, stepping into the cavern. He bent over, hands on his knees as he panted, looking out over the valley below. Huffing, he walked into the cavern, the sound of his breath echoing against the walls. He slid his backpack off, taking out the rope and grappling hook.

He fitted the hook against the roots and rocks jutting out, tossing the rope down the hole, the same one he fell down so long ago. He slung the backpack back over his shoulder before climbing over the edge, holding on tight to the rope as he began to make his way down. One of his feet slipped, sending two pebbles clattering to the bottom. Frisk shuddered as he continued his way down. He had made the trip several times before, but it wasn't any less nerve-wracking. At last when he reached the bottom, he stepped away from the rope dusting his hot hands.

He looked around at the pillars of the ancient ruins rising up from the structures around him. The old place was still so fascinating to him, he only wished he could explore it all. "_I wonder if anybody has seen all the corridors? All the chambers and the secrets they hold?"_ He was dragged from his thoughts by the sound of something rustling in the flowerbed. Frisk smiled, looking down as Flowey's head popped up. The flower looked almost disappointed.

"Oh. It's you. Again."

Frisk wandered over to him, sitting down beside him. "Hey, Flowey."

The flora sighed. "Been a few months. Where've you been?"

Frisk cocked an eyebrow. "What, did you miss me?"

"No! Of course not! You're just the only one that comes around anymore," Flowey spat, defensively.

Frisk shook his head, a smile on his face. "Toriel took us on vacation to Estines for a few weeks. Asgore needed to deal with something in the reserve over there so we figured we'd make a family trip out of it. Since we came back I've just been busy with school and all. Started two weeks ago."

Flowey nodded. "Ah. Everything's still going good up there?"

He nodded. "Mhm! Things are peaceful." There was silence for a few moments before Frisk asked, "Flowey, why haven't you come to the surface? The barrier's gone you know."

He mumbled. "I know...I don't deserve to be up there though. Not after everything I did. Besides, I'd probably just hurt more people up there. If you really want your happy ending, it's better for me just to stay here."

Frisk gave him a sympathetic look. "Oh, come on, Flowey, you know I don't believe that."

"That's your mistake. Look, I don't even know why you keep coming around here anymore! I mean, look! Without Toriel keeping things maintained the place is practically falling apart! What hasn't fallen apart already at least," he scoffed.

Frisk shrugged. "I don't know. I'm worried about you, I guess. I don't want you to get lonely down here."

Flowey shook his head, slumping over. "You're really a treat, huh." There was another long stretch of silence.

Frisk let his hand ruffle through the flowerbed. "Kind of strange that there's a patch of flowers growing in just this one area…"

Flowey comment on it, changing the subject. "Frisk… When I had my powers...I did awful things. I mean we're talking _really_ awful. I killed all of them, you know. Every single one of them. I even laughed about it. Eventually I got bored of what I was doing. I read every book, I burned every book. I befriended everyone, I've been everyone's enemy. And when I got bored with all that, I reset one more time, put things the way they should be. Then, I let time move on. When the first human, I started my game over again. I had someone new to play with. So the cycle went on. A human would fall, I would play with them until I got bored, then let time move on again." He was quiet, and Frisk looked over to him. Then he continued.

"But one day...I couldn't reset anymore. My power...the one thing...my curse that I had grown to accept...was gone. I didn't know why, and I didn't know how to fix it. Bit ironic since like I said, I read every book. So I laid low for a month. The month became a year, which became two. Still, I wasn't able to reset. Seven years went by and all of a sudden..._you_ showed up. I don't know how I knew...but I could just tell that...it was you. You were the reason I had lost my powers. I hated you for that. I think a part of me _still_ hates you."

Frisk tilted his head. "Well, if you wanted your power back so badly...why not just kill me for it?"

Flowey rolled his eyes. "Where would the fun in that be? Besides, it wouldn't do me any good! You would just reset and avoid me like a plague. So, I tried to become your friend. I wanted to play the long game. Find your weakness, and exploit it. But there wasn't one. You're just...too perfect! You're friendly to everyone you meet no matter what they do! Even me! You overcame every obstacle that was put in your path, you even befriended Undyne! I mean _no other human_ was able to do that!"

Frisk smiled. "Sometimes you just need to have hope. That's what I had. It helped me through it all. Even our little encounters."

Flowey turned to face him. "No, you're missing the point. There's something...special about you! Both of us! We're the outliers of our two species! We're the anomalies! But you're going to go on to do something special! Something amazing! Me? I'm going to be feared, if I'm remembered at all. You'll be remembered for generations while I'll just be forgotten, like so many monsters before me."

Frisk shrugged. "Maybe you're right. Though, you definitely won't be remembered if you spend all your time moping around here with nobody to talk to." Frisk patted the back of his flower, ignoring when he gnashed his teeth. "Come on, Flowey...come to the surface! Come see the sun, come see the world! I know you never got the chance. Maybe you'll be able to."

Flowey was still quiet for several long seconds, before finally he nodded. "Oooh...alright. You win."

Frisk grinned again and took his backpack off, unzipping it. He took out a flower pot and a small garden shovel. He began to put gloves on. Flowey saw the shovel and burrowed into the ground again, reappearing at the opposite corner of the flower bed.

Frisk rolled his eyes. "Oh come on Flowey, I need to do this to get you out of here. You'll get lost trying to burrow your way to the surface."

Flowey swatted at the shovel with a leaf as Frisk grew close again.

Frisk put on a stern voice he had heard from Toriel. "Flowey, you are going to need to work with me here. Trust me, it won't hurt a bit."

He arched an eyebrow, then giggled. "Tryin' to act like her, huh? Just watch the roots buddy."

Frisk dug the spade of the shovel into the dirt behind Flowey, carving around his roots, scooping him up with the dirt. Flowey wobbled, and Frisk had to suppress a chuckle at the flower's startled expression. He gently tucked the dirt, flower and all, into the pot.

"There you are! Safe and sound."

Flowey wriggled around in the pot. "If you say so."

Frisk dusted the gloves off, tucking the pot into the backpack. He swung it around to his chest, so he could lean backwards as he tugged at the rope. Flowey looked up and gawked.

"You're joking."

Frisk shook his head. "Nope!"

He grunted as he gripped the rope tight, the gloves ensuring he wouldn't get rope burn as he began to scale the rocky wall of the cavern. Flowey got as close to the top of the pot as he could, as if trying to curl into a defensive ball.

At last they reached the top, and Flowey let out the breath he had been holding as Frisk retrieved the hook. After stuffing it into a seperate area of the backpack, Frisk took the pot out, holding it as he began to walk back down the mountain trail, sighing in the crisp autumn air.


	2. The Road Home

Leaves crunched under his feet as Frisk wandered down the forest trail, making for the streets of the reserve which the trail would rejoin. He hadn't gone very far before Flowey piped up again.

"Hey Frisk. Does Toriel know about...who I used to be?"

Frisk glanced down, shaking his head. "No, I haven't told her. I figured I'd leave that up to you. Not my secret to tell, you know?"

Flowey nodded. "Good. Can you...continue to keep that a secret? I'm sure it'd just hurt her more. I want to be done with hurting people."

Frisk paused, turning the pot around so they could look at each other. "I can do that, Flowey. But...you have to tell her eventually. Alright? Sooner or later, she'll figure it out for herself anyway."

Flowey rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. I...I just need to find the right way to tell her."

Frisk was satisfied enough with the answer and continued on. Soon they reached the main roads, turning to walk down the sidewalk. Flowey gazed around at the homes and small businesses around him.

Two years had come and gone since monsters had gained their citizenship. By now the reserve was fully populated and had regular human visitors. Many were tourists that had heard of monsters reappearing on the surface, and had come to see what the fuss was about. By now reserves had been set up in not one, but two other nations; Estines and Astren. These two housed the remaining monsters from the Underground, thanks to the new refugee programs put in place by their federal governments.

Asgore often found himself busy with matters in his own reserve, though occasionally he made trips to the other two just to check in. Undyne had managed to land a job under local law enforcement, though she still bore her title as Captain of the Royal Guard. Papyrus now had a job on a search and rescue crew that specialized in the large woods surrounding Mount Ebott, and elsewhere throughout the mountain range dividing the continent. Alphys, meanwhile, had since taken up a role in the scientific community, and was constantly busy trying to find ways to improve her existing inventions or create new ones. Toriel had opened her schoolhouse a year prior. The first year had proven to be rough, as she had a hard time bringing in students. Now though, the school was flourishing. Even Sans had made a career for himself, hosting a weekly podcast specializing in bad jokes and puns. He called it "The Humerus Hour." Papyrus hated this podcast with a passion, though Toriel loved it. She even made guest appearances on it once in a while.

Life, overall, was good, though it was not without its challenges. Outside of the reserves, monsters were still discriminated heavily against. They weren't allowed in certain businesses, and would often find themselves being gawked at or even harassed. Despite Undyne's attempts using her connections, law enforcement did not offer monsters much assistance. Oftentimes they put minimal effort in, or only added to the harassment. Monsters like Grillby, elementals, took a large brunt of the abuse. People thought them to be dangerous by nature. To make matters worse, any use of magic was forbidden outside of the reserves. This proved a huge challenge for monsters that relied heavily on magic in everyday life, but what could they do about it? And that was just in Reston. Even Asgore wasn't sure how bad it might be elsewhere.

Asgore had been trying to negotiate new laws with Matthias to help at least ease the discrimination, but so far they hadn't been able to agree on much. At least the human children were open to making friends. Frisk smiled as he thought back to the first children to come to the joint humans and monsters school. If only everybody could be like that.

"Kind of sucks that the world doesn't work like that, huh?" A familiar voice spoke in his head.

"Not now, Chara," Frisk muttered under his breath.

Flowey looked up. "What?"

Frisk glanced down. "Nothing, just a thought."

They reached the driveway of the home Frisk and Toriel lived in. He opened up the door, calling out "I'm home!"

Toriel called from the kitchen. "Ah! Welcome home, my child!"

Frisk kicked his shoes off before walking towards her. "Hey, remember how I told you I had that friend that I would try to get to live with us? Well, he's here."

Toriel stood up straight, just having finished washing the dishes from that morning's breakfast. "Ah, that is lovely! Who might it be?" She turned around, and paused, her smile vanishing when she saw who it was. "Oh! Oh...I see…"

Flowey looked away awkwardly. Frisk jumped to his defense. "Now, I know he's caused some troubles in the past, but believe me, he's changed. He wants to be a better monster now. So, I think he's got something he wants to say to you."

Toriel folded her arms, looking to Flowey as Frisk set him down on the counter.

"I'm sorry...about all the things I did...I know I made a bit of a mess of things," Flowey mumbled.

She sighed. "Well, as long as you are truly sorry about the trouble you caused...I suppose you can live here with us."

Flowey looked up to her again, a small smile cracking open on his face. There was an awkward silence.

"Is there anything you need? Do you need to be...watered? Or…" Toriel queried.

Frisk snickered at the thought. Flowey shook his head insistently. He had never really liked baths even when he was alive, he certainly was not in the mood for one now.

"No, no I can sustain myself fine."

Toriel nodded. "I see."

Frisk rocked on his heels, before suddenly pretending to remember something. "Oh, I had something I needed to check on in my room. I'll be right back!" He ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs, leaving Flowey and Toriel alone. Flowey huddled down in his little pot, feeling restricted in movement. He didn't know what to say. Evidently, neither did Toriel. She began to hum a familiar tune as she continued to wash the last mug. Flowey had to bite his lip not to say anything.

"heya tori."

Toriel spun around, and threw the mug out of reflex. Sans ducked to the left, the mug shattering against the wall. Toriel covered her mouth with her hands.

"Oh my goodness, Sans! I am so sorry! Are you hurt?!"

Flowey turned his head to Sans once he too had recovered from the startle. The skeleton rubbed the back of his head.

"heh, i'm fine. it's a bit muggy in here, though."

Toriel immediately got a broom and dustpan from the closet. "Well, you should know better by now than to just...whatever it is that you do, without warning. One of these days my aim will improve dramatically. Oh, we have a new guest going to be staying with us. I want you to meet Flowey."

She motioned to the flower. Sans glanced over, and immediately stood rigid, and Flowey saw the smallest of twitches from one of the lights in his eyes.

"you?"

Toriel looked up curiously. "Oh! You two have met?"

Sans answered for them both. "we've...had a couple run-in's, yeah."

Toriel could sense the tension between the two, and finished sweeping up the shards of the shattered cup.

"Well, I will leave you two to catch up." She left for the living room.

Flowey leaned back as Sans walked closer. The grin on the skeleton's face was constant, but he could tell that Sans was less than pleased to see him. The skeleton's hand flashed out, grabbing onto Flowey's stem.

"Ack! Let me go you oaf!"

Sans scoffed. "fat chance. what're _you_ doing here?"

Flowey futilely tried to pry Sans's grip apart with his leaves. Without being in the actual ground, he was just about helpless and Sans knew it.

"What _she_ said! I'm just trying to move on with life! I'm not up to anything!"

Sans rolled his eyes. "i'm sure you are. don't think I don't remember all those times you toyed around with our lives?"

Flowey froze. "Y...Y-You remember those?! I thought you monsters couldn't remember the resets!"

Sans grunted. "i can't. not really, at least. but, occasionally I'll get a little deja _view_. with every reset, the deja vu grows stronger. clearer. so, I have...vague memories. enough to know that you're up to no good."

The flower grunted. "Talk to Frisk! He's the one that suggested bringing me up here, not me! Ask him!"

Sans's grip tightened. "i know you think this is a game. just like everything else was to you. if I wanted to...i could kill you. you'd be dead where you stand. i could just rip you up by the roots…" He flicked his hand, and a razer sharp bone appeared by his shoulder. "or I could sever you by the stem. nobody would know what happened...and you wouldn't be able to hurt anyone anymore."

Flowey began to panic, thrashing around. "Listen to me, you stupid trash bag! If I still had the ability to reset, don't you think I'd have done it by now?! That rat Frisk took it from me! I couldn't _do_ anything even if I wanted to! Which I don't! Talk to him!"

Sans glared into his eyes with his ever menacing grin, before finally releasing his stem. Flowey leaned over, wheezing. He spat up at Sans.

"You're insane!"

Sans shrugged. "no thanks to you." He turned around, sauntering out of the kitchen, now in search of Frisk.


	3. The Second Apology

Sans glanced once more over his shoulder at a spooked Flowey as he wandered out of the kitchen, immediately heading upstairs. He knocked on Frisk's door.

"knock, knock."

Frisk opened it up. "Oh, hey Sans."

Sans nodded. "hey, kid. mind if i come in?"

Frisk shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure, why not?"

Sans stepped inside, closing the door behind him. The skeleton leaned back against the wall.

"so...flowey's gonna be living here now, huh?"

Frisk could tell Sans wasn't pleased with the idea. "Yeah...why?"

Sans looked up, meeting Frisk's eyes. "you know about...some of the stuff he's done...right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I know. He told me himself."

Sans tilted his head. "aaaaand...you're alright with that. you're fine with him being this close to you."

Frisk shrugged. "He seems sorry enough."

The skeleton grunted. "yeeeeah, i dunno about that one, chief. he's incapable of feeling anything."

Frisk sighed. "We all need second chances, Sans. But in case you're right, that's why I have him in a flowerpot. So I can keep an eye on him."

Sans nodded slowly, staring straight ahead. "does uh..._she_ know about...you know what?"

Frisk shook his head. "No. Flowey told me he'd tell her when the time's right."

The skeleton huffed. "probably for th' best. keep an eye on him though. seriously. i don't trust him. if he does anything fishy...which let's be honest is just about everything...you give me a holler, alright?"

Frisk replied. "Yeah, I will."

Sans cracked his back. "welp! i gotta run. there's a lotta napping i need ta catch up on. i'll be seein ya, buddy."

Frisk chuckled as Sans made his departure. Frisk leaned back on his bed. He tossed a small ball up in the air, catching it as it fell back down. He then heard another voice.

"You never told me you wanted to bring Azzy up here."

Frisk sighed. "He doesn't like to be called that anymore." He then frowned. "You're in my head. Why would I have to tell you?"

Chara's voice echoed back. "I'm in your head, but I cannot hear your thoughts. Only when you speak it aloud. Or speak it to me."

Frisk shrugged. "Guess that makes sense...sort of...you've been pretty quiet the past little while."

"I have had nothing to say," she replied.

There was silence between them, before Frisk tossed the ball up again. "Do you think it was a bad idea? Bringing him up here?"

"Hard to say," Chara said. "I will say he has done some rather...interesting things from the sound of it. Though. When we did go to the surface, he told me it was one of the most beautiful things he could have ever seen. I think he'll like it here."

Frisk tossed the ball up as he pondered her response. He missed as it came down, landing on his head. Chara giggled as Frisk sat bolt upright.

"Don't even think about saying something," he muttered.

"Oh, I wasn't!" she said innocently.

Frisk raised his eyes, almost as if he was trying to see to his brain to make eye contact with her.

"Do you miss him? Or rather, did you?"

Chara sighed. "Yes. I missed him. Still do. Though I live yet within your head, I cannot _really_ talk to him. It is like looking through a two-way mirror."

Frisk nodded. "Hmm...but, theoretically...I could just relay what you're saying to him...and you can talk that way, right?"

There was silence.

"Chara?"

"Yes, merely considering it. It...could work. Though there is still the question of whether he would believe you to be joking with him."

He shrugged. "I don't know, he's seen a lot. I'm sure this wouldn't be the weirdest thing he's come across."

Another response. "Well...I will give it some thought."

Frisk jumped up from his bed. "Good enough for me." He walked downstairs, back down to Flowey. From the look on his face, it was evident Sans must have had a rather interesting 'discussion' with him. Frisk chuckled, scooping up the flowerpot. He threw his shoes on as Flowey stared blankly ahead.

"Hey Mom? I'm going to go visit Alphys with Flowey!" he called to Toriel.

Toriel called back. "Alright dear, dinner is at 5:30!"

Frisk smiled. "Okay, I'll be back by then!" He then stepped back outside, grabbing his coat. Toriel would have a fit if she caught him outside in the chilling air without it. As Frisk began to briskly walk down the side of the road, Flowey glanced up to him.

"Why're we going to visit Alphys?"

Frisk shrugged. "Well...as much as I understand, you were created when Alphys and the old scientist...Gaster, I think his name was? Anyways, they were working on souls or whatever when you were made. Maybe she'd know how to reverse what happened to you, and maybe get your old soul back."

Flowey grunted. "Don't waste your time. I already tried that route when I first became a flower. She wasn't able to do anything. I don't even think Gaster himself could fix me if he were around."

Frisk shrugged. "Yeah, but that was over a hundred years ago. Technology and science has come a really long way since then. Besides, did you ever try after that first attempt?"

He took a right at the one stop light in the reserve as Flowey muttered under his breath.

"No…"

Frisk smirked. "There you go! Besides, she's another person you owe an apology to for your troubles."

Flowey groaned when Frisk mentioned apologies again. Soon they were walking up the short driveway to Alphys's house, the roof decorated in a good six satellite dishes. Frisk knocked on the door.

"Hey Alphys?! You home?!"

The door opened a crack a few moments later, and then fully when Alphys saw who it was.

"F-Frisk! So good to s-s-see you again!"

Frisk waved, then held Flowey out. "I have a friend here."

Alphys covered her mouth. "O...O-Oh! P...Prince-"

Flowey cut her off. "Don't even think about saying that name."

Frisk cuffed the back of his petals. "Hey! Be nice."

Flowey huffed. "Alright! Alright! Sorry."

Frisk arched an eyebrow. "And?"

"Sorry, for everything. That I did, I mean," he mumbled.

Alphys fumbled with her words, as she so often did. "U-Uh...Apology a-a-accepted."

Frisk sighed, shaking his head. "Can we come in? We wanted to ask you about something?"

Alphys nodded, stepping aside. "Yes, of c-course."

She closed the door behind them as Frisk stepped into the house. She had a way of making her house feel somewhat cramped despite her smaller size. Perhaps it was because of all the unfinished projects lay scattered around her home, or the extra drawers everywhere filled with spare parts, or perhaps it was a bit of both. She led them to the living room where he and Flowey sat on the sofa, while Alphys took her seat in an armchair across from them.

"What did you n-need help with?"

Frisk set Flowey down on the coffee table. "Could you tell us how Flowey was created? It was during the..._experiments_ correct?"

Alphys nodded. "Y-Yes. Though...not directly f-for the experiments. D-Doctor Gaster was curious what might happen if something w-without a soul gained the will to live. S-So, he injected d-d-determination into the flower t-that became, Flowey."

Frisk nodded slowly. "Gotcha. So...what would happen then if we were to...replace his determination with a living soul?"

Alphys immediately shook her head. "N-No. That would be s-simply impossible! The DT Extractor we c-c-constructed completely _destroyed_ a perfectly healthy s-soul, who knows w-what might happen to you, a-an entity that does not h-have a s-soul! Then c-c-comes the question of, where d-do we find a replacement s-s-soul? W-We can't just kill somebody for it, and we _certainly_ can't just make o-one out of thin air! The parameters are just s-so precise and difficult…" She trailed off, but Frisk was intrigued.

"You said the parameters are difficult. That...That means it was done before though, right?!"

Flowey's eyes sparked with hope, the first he had felt for as long as he could remember, but it was smashed to pieces almost immediately.

"Well...y-yes. I did h-hear that the late D-Doctor Gaster did experiment w-with soul creation. Though...n-nobody has been able to r-replicate his work since, not even m-me!"

Frisk was still hopeful. "Do you think you would at least be able to try?"

Alphys closed her eyes, nodding again. "I...I-I suppose I can. Though, Flowey...I-I will not promise that it will w-work."

Flowey sighed. "Thanks for at least trying to help."

Alphys smiled sympathetically. "N-No worries." She stood up, walking with them to the door.

"I cannot s-start on it immediately, I d-d-do have other projects to f-finish first, but I will begin as soon as I am able to!"

Frisk waved goodbye as he stepped back outside. "Take your time! Thanks!"

Alphys too waved frantically goodbye before closing the door.

Sighing, Frisk began to walk back home with Flowey tucked under his arm, though with his eyes straight forward, he failed to spy the single tear that fell from Flowey's eye as the painful familiar smell of his mother's cooking wafted through an open window.


	4. Remembering Old Friends

Three days later saw Flowey once more carried in Frisk's arms, flowerpot and all. It was nearing 9:00 in the morning. The day after Flowey arrived, Frisk had suggested Flowey go to Toriel's school on the reserve, his reasoning being he could make some more friends, both humans and monsters. Toriel had reluctantly agreed, on the condition that Flowey wouldn't stir up trouble.

Frisk waved to Isaac, one of his friends from the orphanage as he was walking up the steps of the school. Isaac grinned, running over, MK behind him.

"Hey guys!"

Isaac grinned. "Hey Frisk! Who's your buddy?" he queried, staring at Flowey.

Frisk smiled. "He's...a friend of mine from the Underground."

MK studied him closely. "You look kinda familiar."

Flowey rolled his eyes. "I've been around."

The bell on the wall started ringing insistently. The trio walked into their classroom, where Toriel stood behind her desk, a warm smile on her face. Toriel's main job at the school was as a teacher, though she also happened to be the principle as well. Despite this, she spent more time in the classroom than in the office. Frisk took his seat along the right of the classroom, and once the racket had tied down, Toriel began to speak.

"Good morning again, children! I trust you all had a good weekend?"

All the students nodded, some mumbling different things they had done.

"Lovely! Now, we have a new student joining us today. I want you all to welcome Flowey!" She motioned to Frisk's desk, and Flowey's pot on top of it. Flowey refused to willingly meet any of their gazes. Those who he did, his gaze was cold. He said nothing. After a long awkward moment, Toriel spoke again.

"Now, today we have a very special event. You will all be able to be a part of this school's first ever field trip!"

Excited murmuring filled the classroom, even Frisk was excited. The school in its first year hadn't had enough money to organize any field trips, though with the higher student count this year, the school had enough for a few local trips. Frisk already knew where they were going as Toriel led them outside to the school buses.

Just fifteen minutes later, the students were unloading in front of the Paral Museum of Monster History. Frisk had never actually been inside the museum since it had finally finished just a few months ago. A green lizard-like monster was waiting to greet them at the front doors. Frisk had gotten to know the museum's director a little bit, as he was one of Alphys's only cousins. Since its opening, the museum had been packed full of both monsters and humans alike, curious to learn about the ancient history of their kind.

Everybody was amazed as they entered the museum's large front entryway, where a large statue stood of the three kings of the past. Asgore was front and center, hands clasped solemnly in front of him. Asgrid was on his left, a saber pointed up at the ceiling, while Ausgrid, Asgore's grandfather, was on his right, standing straight and proud. Even Flowey was curious, much to Frisk's delight. From here, the children were split up into smaller groups, going to explore different parts of the museum.

Frisk was stunned at the many galleries, not having realized how much history the monsters had. One of the halls told the stories of each of the three kings in their history, in detail. Despite them all being of the same bloodline, Frisk was still surprised by just how differently each king's life had been.

He glanced down to Flowey. "You know...if we get your soul back? One day, you could be in one of these exhibits. Not as a flower, but as a king."

Flowey nodded slowly, still gazing around in awe. "I...I can't believe how much I didn't know!"

Frisk was even more surprised. "You didn't know a lot of this stuff?"

Flowey shook his head. "Honestly, I didn't! During the war a lot of our old records were destroyed. I only knew what happened after, and during those weeks."

Frisk did notice one thing in common about the kings. "They were killed with weapons, not from age...that...geez. How do you feel about it?"

Flowey shrugged. "I don't, really. Asgore's species are immortal to age. They can only really die through sickness, or if they're killed. That's why there's only been three of them, if you count Asgore."

Frisk nodded. "Huh. Interesting."

They proceeded further into the museum's depths, and found history about every conflict monsters were ever involved in, old furniture, objects, and weapons used by monsters back in the day, at least by those that couldn't summon their own. They even found old paintings that had been restored so that they looked as though they had been freshly painted. Frisk chuckled when he found one of Asgore as a child, with his parents standing behind him.

"He looks a lot like you did."

Flowey rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Frisk sighed, nudging him. "Hey, come on. You can't say you're the _least_ bit entertained by all this stuff. You're learning stuff you've never heard about before."

The flower gave an exasperated sigh. "I guess."

They continued on, soon reaching the heart of the museum, an elegant sign posted above the doorway marking the beginning of the Gerson Chordilla Wing. They stepped inside, gazing around.

All along the walls were framed texts, depicting every last detail known about Gerson's long life. His childhood, his time with the Royal Guard, his exploits in the Underground, everything. In display cases sat some of the trinkets he had collected on his journeys, and occasionally paintings he had made himself. Gerson also had a journal that he kept close to him, and many of its entries were on display as well.

In the very center of the wing sat a beautiful wax statue of Gerson. One of his feet were planted upon a rock, giving him a confident pose. The real suit of armor he wore as a captain dressed the statue, and one of its hands gripped the handle of the sword tucked at his side, a large hammer wielded in his other hand. His face gazed up at the light. He looked...young. Happy.

Asgore himself had overseen the construction of the wing honoring the life of his dear friend. Flowey was quiet, sensing the solemn atmosphere. Asgore still missed him. Everyone did. Even Frisk, who had barely known him, missed him. quietly.

"He was really something, huh?" Flowey mumbled quietly.

Frisk nodded. "Sure looks that way…"

Lunchtime came around. Frisk and Flowey were the first two to make it back to the lobby. They both froze when they say a familiar hood standing in front of the lobby's statue of the three kings. Frisk whispered to Flowey.

"You see him too?"

Flowey nodded. "I wish I didn't."

"Hey!" Frisk called out. The Riverperson glanced over his shoulder, before quietly walking around to the other side, disappearing from view. Frisk ran after, but when he rounded the statue, he was gone.

Flowey shivered in the pot. "He gives me the creeps."

Frisk was still puzzled by how the Riverperson could just...appear and disappear like that. "I mean...he doesn't seem too bad."

Flowey grunted. "Speak for yourself. I don't like a guy that doesn't show his face."

Frisk sighed. "I'm sure he has his reasons."

Soon after, the rest of the students found their way to the lobby, and they headed outside for lunch.


	5. Upon Reflection

The boat silently glided upstream, slicing through the calm river like a hot knife through butter. Upon reaching the river's end, the Riverperson stepped out, wandering into the wall to the void beyond. He continued to walk along the expanse of nothing, soon spotting his friend.

Gaster shook his head. "I thought we agreed we would stop appearing in the real world."

The Riverperson pulled back his hood. "Indeed. Though we do still need to keep our eyes on that 'thing' you created."

Gaster shivered. "The resemblance is still uncanny. And that 'thing' you speak of used to be the prince, you know."

The Riverperson rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, the 'prince' has caused quite a few problems for us over the years. Do not forget the time blockades I have had to put in place to stop him from undoing all of our work. It took a considerable amount of energy."

Gaster huffed. "So you keep saying."

The Riverperson continued to walk past the skeleton, though he suddenly paused, looking back. "Something is on your mind?"

Gaster nodded, turning around to face him. "I don't like waiting."

The Riverperson was silent.

Gaster continued. "What is the point of doing this when we already know the ending? Why don't we just speed things along?"

The Riverperson shook his head. "If we did that, then Frisk, and all the others, would not have enough determination to pull through the Extinction. Let them have their triumph. They will need it for what lies ahead. We have discussed this, Dings. You must remember that he is still a child. We must wait until he is old enough to understand, let alone cope."

Gaster shook his head as he walked with the Riverperson. "I just feel that letting them believe this is their happy ending is cruel, when we know how it all ends."

The Riverperson. "I feel your struggles too, my friend. But if we tell them all of what is to come, then it will throw the entire timeline into jeopardy."

Gaster nodded slowly. "I understand. This does bring up...a problem, though with one of our Anomalies. His ability to reset. We want to deliver a happy ending to them, but do not forget that our priority, above all else, is to guard the timeline. We are sentinels, after all. What if he tries to..._fix_ things himself?"

The Riverperson closed his eyes, folding his hands behind his back. "I do not believe Frisk will act with this ability on his own. He made a promise to Sans to never use it, no matter what happened. He has proven to be a human of his word. The trouble might arise with the human that shares his body."

Gaster nodded. "Yes, Chara. Another wrench in the cogs," he grunted. "It can never be easy, can it?"

The Riverperson chuckled. "If it were easy, we would not be here right now."

Another friend appeared from the black, and Riverperson nodded to him.

"Ah, greetings once again, Xavier. What do you think about this? Your legacy?"

The raven shrugged. "I am indifferent to it."

Gaster was skeptical. "Oh, I doubt that. It is your story, after all, that put all these events into motion, and will come to be the beginning of the end as well. You feel nothing of this?"

Xavier shook his head. "If it is the will of the world that my legacy be placed into the story in this form, then so it shall be."

The two moved on.

Gaster changed the subject. "You never answered my question."

The Riverperson frowned. "Which question was that?"

"Why am I here?" the skeleton asked.

The Riverperson chuckled again. "Mmm, because you can be useful. You, and I, are the only two that can bridge this world with that of the waking. Though, your ability does need some work, I will admit. After all, your encounter with the child on his journey was...shall we say, short-lived."

Gaster rolled his eyes. "I was startled it even worked, to be honest. I believe I am ready to try again."

The Riverperson placed his foot upon what appeared to be nothingness, yet it floated as though it were the first step of a staircase. They both then gazed down at rippling water before them. Gradually the ripples strengthened, revealing Frisk walking back home from school with Flowey.

Gaster shook his head. "Look at him. He's so innocent. No idea what is coming. It isn't fair. He shouldn't have to deal with the Extinction."

The Riverperson sighed. "Nobody should have to. Yet, he will need to. It is necessary, after all."

They continued to gaze down into the pool, watching as the image shifted over other members of the monster society.

"Are you sure you are fine with just letting them be slaughtered?"

The Riverperson glanced over to him. "Are you?"

Gaster looked away.

"That is what I thought. I am not ready either, but we need to accept that we never will be. Nobody can truly be ready for what will happen," the Riverperson continued.

The skeleton huffed. "Are you sure we can't stop it? Surely there must be something we can do!"

The Riverperson looked back down at the pool. "No. No matter what we do, the Extinction is inevitable. Time _will_ find a way, no matter what. She is relentless that way."

Gaster finally looked back, then frowned. The pool now showed another king, this one with an armored fox beside him, sword drawn. They were both cutting their way through the brush, with an army behind them, through the dark night centuries ago.

"Why are you still fretting about _him_? He's long dead!" Gaster asked.

"As are your sons. Yet you worry over their fates," the Riverperson countered.

Gaster muttered, "Touche. Though I worry about my son's fates because I know that there is a possibility that things could still change, if you would let us. Would you not do the same for him?!"

The Riverperson rounded on Gaster. "Believe me, if I could stop the war, I would. But I can't. Because if I did, then you would not be here right now. You never would have created your children. Frisk may never have been born, which therefore would mean that when the Extinction comes, there would _be_ no hope for _any_ of us!"

Gaster stared at the Riverperson's fiery gaze as he continued to rant, "Furthermore, there _is_ no possibility that things could change. Do you not remember what I just said?! Time _will_ find a way! It's her nature! We can put the pieces in front of them, but they need to put the puzzle together themselves!"

The Riverperson took a deep breath. "I do not like it any more than you do. But I am willing to at least let nature take its natural course."

The skeleton nodded. "Fair enough, as am I." They turned away from the pool, though something was still bugging the Riverperson. Gaster could see it.

"You are going to speak to him again, aren't you."

The Riverperson pulled his hood back over his head. "I need to ensure he will not interfere anymore. We have come too far, and the timing is too critical."

Gaster sighed. "Very well. You do what you need to do. I will see if I can speak with our other Anomaly again."

The Riverperson nodded. "Very well. Safe travels my friend."

Gaster grunted as he walked away into the darkness. "And with you."


	6. Loose Ends

Frisk's eyes blinked open, a cricket chirping outside his window. He sat up in bed, rubbing one eye. He looked to Flowey, sitting in his flowerpot on the nightstand beside him. The flower was hunched over, eyes closed as he slept soundly in his pot. Frisk turned to look out the window.

The streets were still quiet. The digital clock read 2:09 AM. He frowned as the clock flickered to 2:10, immediately jumping back to 2:09. He looked out to the mountain range beyond: A whisper echoed from its peak. It pulled to him. It called to him. Something waited for him.

Almost entranced, Frisk stood up. He slid out of bed, grabbing his coat as he headed for the door.

"Frisk? Where're you going?" Flowey mumbled still half-asleep, though Frisk did not notice.

Chara's voice echoed the question, "Hey, partner, are you alright?"

Frisk did not answer either of them, and Flowey was left mystified as Frisk exited the room. He looked to the clock, his frown matching Frisk's as he once again saw the time shift back to 2:09. Something was deeply wrong.

"Howdy, my flowery friend!" A voice made him jump.

His head whipped left, and there stood the hooded figure, stepping forward in the dark room.

Flowey gnashed his teeth. "How long have you been standing there?! Stay away from me ya creep!" he hissed.

The riverperson chuckled deeply, leaning forward. "Come, come now, no need to act so hostile. I am here to talk. And believe me, we have a great deal to talk about."

* * *

Frisk stepped out of his room, and the sound of rushing water in the distance filled his ears. He blinked, looking around. He was in Waterfall. He turned around, but the door to his bedroom was gone. Chara was silent, just as puzzled as Frisk. He turned back to face the cliff face he had entered by, and paused again. A grey door stood tall and proud, a soft glow pulsing behind it.

Frisk reached out, touching the doorknob. With a deep breath he grabbed the handle firmly, pushing the door open. He walked cautiously into the room, the door clicking shut behind him. There, in the center of the room, sat a large black mass of goop, blacker than the night itself. On the top sat a skull, with two lights in its eyesockets, and cracks running over its face. The creature spoke, though only static could be heard. Yet somehow, Frisk could still understand the words it was trying to say.

"Welcome, Frisk Dreemurr. We have much to discuss. My name is Wing Ding Gaster."

* * *

Flowey shuddered as the Riverperson leaned forwards, their faces barely two inches apart. Despite being so close, Flowey still couldn't see anything beneath the hood.

"You have caused me a great deal of trouble over the years. Your antics nearly destroyed the world in its entirety more than once."

Flowey was shocked to find himself stammering, something he had never done before as a flower.

"Y...Y-Yeah? Well, I didn't! So what's t-the problem?"

The Riverperson grunted. "The very fact that you tried in the first place. Do you realize how much trouble you have caused with time? You are _very_ lucky I managed to put the blockages in to prevent you from destroying us all!"

He looked away, not wanting to gaze at the hooded monster anymore.

The Riverperson stood up straight. "Have you _nothing_ to say for yourself?"

Flowey spat back. "Look, I get it! I did some _stupid _things! But that's because I was bored! I couldn't feel anything, I still can't! Not _really _at least! That's not who I am anymore though!"

The Riverperson grunted. "So you say. But what separates this you from the you of the past? Why should I believe you when all past actions tell me otherwise?"

Flowey rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. You're smarter than that. I'm not stupid, you know."

The Riverperson chuckled. "Neither am I, my prince."

Flowey's eyes narrowed. "How _did_ you know that!? I never tell you that!"

The Riverperson's chuckle turned ominous. "Oh, there are a many that I know about you...and Frisk...and Toriel...and all the others…"

* * *

Chara stood beside Frisk in her ghostly silhouette. She knew this monster. She had seen him before in person. But unlike Frisk, Chara saw the scientist standing straight up, though dripping...leaking from his arms, his face, everywhere.

"How do you understand him? It is only a bizarre static hum."

Gaster's head flashed to stare straight at Chara, and suddenly she too understood. "I will get to you soon enough, Chara Dreemurr, but for now Frisk and I are having a discussion."

He turned his attention back to Frisk, his voice fading from Chara's mind.

Frisk shook his head, "What do you mean?"

Gaster clarified. "This is not the end of the road. Your story is far from concluded. Rather, it is just beginning. There will be more struggles ahead. Things you could not even begin to understand now. But, you need to stay determined. At the end of the dark tunnel, a light will shine. Focus on it, and you will find your way out of the night."

Frisk nodded, and then Gaster turned to face Chara.

* * *

The Riverperson took a step back, and Flowey wondered if he had offended him.

"Do not be ridiculous, I have no need to harm you. I do not want to. Though if you continue to meddle as you have been doing, I will be forced to take...undesirable measures.

Flowey bit his lip. "Alright...well, what do you want me to do?"

The Riverperson huffed. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Live your life, allow Frisk to live his. Do this, and we will have no future problems. Do you understand?"

Flowey nodded. "Don't be an idiot, I _know_ that. Don't interfere. I'm not stupid."

The Riverperson seemed to brighten. "Lovely! Then we will never need to speak together again. Ta ta!"

He began to hum the familiar tune that continued to leave Flowey mystified, as the Riverperson walked straight through the closed door, humming a familiar melody.

* * *

"Now, Chara Dreemurr. You are a rather...unusual situation to deal with."

Chara was cautious in her response. "What do you mean?"

Gaster shook his head. "We never anticipated you would 'attach' yourself to Frisk in the manner that you did."

Frisk strained to understand, though now it was he who was rendered unable to hear Gaster's speech as Chara folded her arms.

"Is that a problem?"

Gaster grunted. "Not yet. What, I wonder, is _your_ endgame to attaching to Frisk? Do you hope to get him to finish your little… 'plan' for you?"

Chara scoffed. "If I required a vessel for my plan, I would have my move in years past. I have decided to give humans another chance."

Gaster nodded. "I see...well, for my sake, for Frisk's sake...for everyone's sake...please try and keep it this way? There is a very...complex picture in the works, I would hate to have you ruining it."

Chara arched an eyebrow, but nodded. "Very well…"

Gaster nodded. "Wonderful." A low rumbling filled the room, steadily growing increasingly louder. Frisk glanced around wildly, then back to Gaster's eerie smile. He turned around, throwing open the door and sprinting back out. He tripped over a rock as he left the shaking room, falling forwards.

He sat bolt upright, once more in his bed in a cold sweat. He looked over to Flowey, who was still sleeping. He then looked to the clock. "2:10." Time flowed onwards again. Frisk took a deep breath, wiping his brow as he fell back against his pillow. It took just minutes for him to drift back off to sleep. When he laid back, he missed Flowey opening one nervous eye, scanning the room for an invisible entity, before shutting it again.


	7. Expulsion

The following day seemed to crawl by in slow motion. Both Frisk and Flowey hardly spoke through breakfast, much to Toriel's concern. Frisk wasn't talking mostly because Flowey was so quiet. The poor creature had looked spooked ever since waking up that morning, and Frisk knew it had something to do with the rather...unusual night.

They walked to school in silence, and Frisk barely paused to greet his friends as he walked into the classroom, as if he was a pre-programmed robot. He found it hard to focus, mind still dwelling on the words spoken by Gaster the previous night. He wasn't sure whether or not to believe them. He was relieved when the recess bell rang, the two heading outside. Frisk sat back against the building, placing Flowey on the ground beside him, still in his pot. He took a deep breath.

"You had a long night too, huh?"

Flowey nodded. "Mhm…"

"Was it anything like...my night?" Frisk asked in a low tone.

Flowey knew exactly what he meant. "Yeah…"

Frisk was quiet for a while. "Was it Gaster who talked to you?"

The flower shook his head. "No. Someone else."

Frisk glanced over, now curious. "Oh? Who was it?"

The black hood filled Flowey's vision again, its depths seemingly deeper than the ocean itself.

"It's...not important."

Frisk mumbled. "Oh." The fifteen minutes of recess passed by slowly as they watched the other children laughing, running, playing…yet neither of them wanted to get up and join them. The bell on the side of the building started to ring. Frisk picked up the pot, starting to walk back to the doors.

He grunted as somebody ran into his back. The pot dropped to the ground, its contents, Flowey and all, spilling onto the field.

The girl turned around, looking apologetic. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't really paying attention."

Frisk set the pot upright, glancing over it to make sure it hadn't cracked, while Flowey frantically rooted himself back into the earth, wriggling as he adjusted to the much more open environment.

"Don't worry, it isn't broken," Frisk assured her.

The girl rushed back, stooping over the spilled dirt. "Here, let me help." She began to scoop dirt back into the pot, and soon reached for Flowey.

Flowey flinched away. "Don't even think about it."

The girl was persistent though, taking Flowey in her hands. Flowey dug in with his roots, trying to stay planted. She tugged a little harder, and Flowey yowled as one of his roots suddenly broke. Before Frisk could warn her, Flowey bit down hard on one of her fingers. She screeched in pain, and Frisk could only watch as a vine shot from the ground behind her. It grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, throwing her away.

Flowey's eyes were wild as the girl landed hard several feet away from them, rolling on the ground. Two students rushed to her aid, while all the others stared in horror. The girl's pained wails filled Frisk's ears. By now one of the teachers was with her.

The teacher glowered at the two. "You two. Principal's office. Now."

Flowey stared at what he had just done as Frisk gently placed Flowey back in his pot. He looked down as Frisk carried him inside, walking to Toriel's office. Frisk sat down on the bench just outside.

"What was that for?!" he muttered to Flowey.

"She should have backed off when I told her to," he grumbled.

Frisk was stunned. "You can't just go throwing kids around! She was trying to help! You might have hurt her! How do you expect people to be friends with you if you just push everyone away? Literally?"

Flowey didn't answer. The sudden drone of an ambulance siren could be heard stopping just outside. Flowey gulped nervously as the sirens quickly ceased. Time seemed to stretch. Toriel soon walked down the hall, shooting a fiery glare at Flowey before walking into her office. They heard her talking on the phone, though they couldn't hear who with. Frisk assumed it was with the girl's parents. After a few minutes, they heard a click, then the door opened.

"Come in, you two."

Frisk stood up with Flowey, walking into Toriel's office. Frisk closed the door, setting Flowey down on her desk, facing her. Toriel groaned under her breath.

"Frisk, can you tell me what happened?" she asked.

Frisk nodded. "The girl bumped into me accidentally on the way back in from recess. She said sorry and tried to help put Flowey back into his pot with the dirt. I think she grabbed him the wrong way, because Flowey...snapped."

Toriel shook her head.

"In his defense, Flowey did tell her not to do anything," Frisk added quickly.

"That is absolutely no excuse! Regardless of whether somebody listens or not, you simply cannot attack them the way you did today, Flowey! You really hurt her!" Toriel growled.

Flowey didn't bother defending himself. He felt ashamed. It was like being scolded again as a child. He had always wanted to feel like it had when he was alive, but this was definitely not what he had in mind.

"Will she be alright?" he asked.

Toriel took a deep breath to calm herself. "The doctors believe she may have fractured her arm, and she has some deep thorn cuts on her upper back. But, it is nothing that she will not recover from. Though she is no doubt going to need _therapy_ because of you."

Flowey mumbled again. "I'm sorry. When she pulled on me she tugged one of my roots wrong."

Toriel close her eyes. "I am afraid sorry is not enough. I was afraid something like this might happen. Flowey, I am going to have to expel you from this school."

Frisk stood up. "What?!"

Toriel's steely gaze bore into him, and he slowly sat back down.

She looked back to Flowey. "Instead, I am going to set up a tutor for you, so you can be homeschooled. I believe it will be for the best."

Flowey again said nothing. What was there to say? The rest of the day was just as quiet as that morning had been. Toriel didn't speak again to either of the children. Frisk hoped they would be able to put the situation behind them, but during dinner he realized this would not be the case. A firm knock sounded at the door, and Toriel stood up from the table, going to answer it. She blinked as she opened the door. There stood Undyne, dressed in her police uniform, appearing quite tired.

"Hey, Tori. Sorry to barge in on you like this, can I come in? It's about the...incident earlier today."

Toriel gave a weary sigh. "It is no trouble, Undyne, do come in."

Undyne nodded at Frisk as she walked past the kitchen, going to the living room with Toriel. They could just barely make out the conversation.

"Do the parents wish to press charges?" Toriel asked.

Undyne shook her head. "No. If anything, they were just relieved that she was going to be alright. They released her from the hospital just a couple hours after she went in. I'm just here on the department's request, it's a mandatory investigation. I tried to convince them to wave it off, but the captain didn't budge, so I at least got them to send me instead of a human officer. I imagine that would have been much less pleasant."

Toriel nodded, resting her head in her hands. "Indeed, indeed. I respect that you need to do this Undyne, so please, continue."

A deep sigh followed as Undyne obliged. "How did you punish Flowey? I mean, surely he didn't get off scot free."

Toriel shook her head again. "Correct, he did not. I expelled him shortly after the incident. However, off of the record, I am arranging for him to continue his schooling from home. He still needs to learn, after all."

Undyne chuckled. "I don't think they'd be mad about that anyway. The...The kid's gonna need some serious counselling, she was pretty shaken up from the whole mess. I mean, it isn't every day you get thrown around by something a couple inches tall."

Toriel huffed. "We do have a school counselor that I can arrange for her to have regular meetings with."

Then, the final question. "How come the incident wasn't halted prior to her getting thrown?"

"I spoke to the teachers and other students that saw it. From what it sounds like, it all happened quite quickly. Less than 90 seconds it sounded."

Undyne grunted. "Fair enough. Alright, thanks for your time. Hey, again, I'm real sorry about this. It's just something I had to do."

Toriel walked her to the door. "I cannot be mad at you for doing your job, Undyne."

Undyne waved to Frisk and Flowey as she left. "See you guys."

Frisk nodded, waving back as Toriel closed the door behind her. She then returned to the dining room table. Not a word was spoken for the rest of the night.


	8. Unraveling Tales

Frisk sighed heavily as he waved goodbye to Alphys, who shrugged apologetically.

"I-I'm sorry, Flowey, b-but these things t-t-take time! I will analyze the s-sample at once and see i-if I can utilize it in s-some way."

Frisk nodded. "Can't get mad at you for trying. See you later."

Flowey pouted in the pot as Frisk carried him, a tiny band-aid wrapped around his little stem. They were now entering week five of trying to find a way to get Flowey's soul back. In the weeks since Frisk and Flowey had approached her, she had managed to scrape together old lab notes and string some machines together to use them for the task, though she still was pessimistic about results.

The two had gone over so Alphys could take a sample from Flowey, similar to a blood sample. He hadn't been terribly pleased with getting the shot, and it took considerable… 'negotiation' on Frisk's end to make him cooperate.

"Why are we even going to Alphys for this junk?"

Frisk glanced down at him. "What do you mean? She's the head royal scientist, one of the smartest minds around! You don't really think a human scientist would know more than her about this, would you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Of course not, dummy. But she isn't the only monster that knows about soul creation and all that. Heck, we should be going to Sans about this!"

Frisk frowned. "Sans? All I've ever seen him do is lounge around and make that little podcast of his. What makes you think he would know even _half_ of what Alphys does?"

Flowey tilted his head. "He never told you?"

Frisk stopped. "Told me what?"

A thin smile spread across his face. "Oh, I'm not going to tell you if he hasn't. Not my story to tell. But, uh...let's just say there's a whole other side to him you know nothing about. You might wanna go ask him about it."

Frisk kept walking. "That isn't funny."

Flowey stared up at him innocently. "What, you think I'm joking? Come on, you've spoken to him! You can't tell me you feel like he's a little _too_ laid back."

"Hmm…" Frisk thought all the way back to when he and Sans had first met. He liked to think that the skeleton was just unbelievably lazy, but when he put more thought into it, he began to realize that Flowey had a point. He was just too casual about things. Especially when he warned Frisk about Flowey in the first place.

"Yeah...maybe I will visit him."

A few minutes later they arrived at home. Frisk walked inside, kicking off his shoes. They made their way to the living room where Toriel was waiting for them with another woman. Flowey tilted his head curiously as they noticed their arrival.

"Ah, welcome home children! Flowey, this is Lauren. She is going to be your homeschooling tutor," Toriel told them.

Lauren waved. "Hello, Flowey, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Flowey grunted. "Hey."

Toriel sighed. "As I said, Flowey is er...unique."

She giggled. "Well, being my first monster student, I would say anything would be unique."

Frisk glanced to Toriel. "Hey, Mom, I'm going to go visit Sans if that's alright."

Toriel nodded. "Of course it is! Just remember to be back before eight."

Frisk smiled, setting Flowey down on the coffee table with the others. "Cool, thanks!" Before Flowey could protest, Frisk quickly left the room. He threw on his shoes again, walked outside, and turned left. Sans lived just two doors up the road from them. He rang the doorbell, rocking back and forth on his heels while he waited for an answer. He was surprised when Sans himself answered the door.

"You? Answering doors?" he asked, amused.

Sans shrugged. "paps is out, and it's rude to give guests a cold shoulder. anyways, what's up?"

Frisk stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Can I come in? I need to ask you about something important."

Sans could see the anxiousness in Frisk's eyes and nodded. "yeah, I guess i've got some time between my nap and afternoon snack. c'mon in."

Frisk stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

"so, what's up kid?"

Frisk decided in this case it would be best not to beat around the bush. "What do you know about soul creation?"

He noticed Sans grow rigid before looking back at him.

"Er...what d'you mean? like creating a soul?"

Frisk nodded. "Yeah."

"like, artificially?" he elaborated.

Frisk frowned. "You're stalling."

"no i'm not!"

"Yes, you are."

Sans took a frustrated breath. "what makes you think i know anything about that anyway?"

Frisk folded his arms. "Flowey told me you apparently haven't been telling me nearly everything I need to know. He said I might want to ask you about it."

Sans looked down. "how much did he tell you?"

Frisk shrugged. "Not much. Only that you would know all about it. That's all he said."

Sans rubbed the back of his skull. "right. uh...let's go to the living room. you'll want to be sittin' down for this, it's a bit of a long story."

Frisk followed him to the living room, taking a seat in an armchair while Sans flopped down on the sofa.

"before I begin, how'd this even come up, anyway?"

Frisk nearly slapped himself, realizing he had never told Sans about his project with Alphys.

"We're trying to get Flowey his soul back. We thought maybe we'd be able to create one, so we turned to Alphys. We were just on our way home when Flowey said you'd know all about that stuff."

Sans grunted. "gotcha. should've known he'd start barking up that tree again. you've heard of doctor gaster, right?"

Frisk nodded. "Yeah. Who was that guy anyway? Like I know he built the CORE, Alphys worked with him and he worked on the DT Experiments, but that's about it. Sounds like he was a bit more important than that though."

Sans sighed. "you've listed off all of his major projects. all except one. he called it Soulbirth. it's the reason why i'm here today. the goal of the project was to make an artificial soul. he had dozens of souls that tried and failed, but after months of trial and error he broke through. two souls managed to persist. he then cut holes in his hands, using the bone to make bodies for them. one of the souls is mine. my original name was 9A, before I got the name sans." He tugged his hoodie around the shoulder blade, and Frisk could make out a thin carving in the bone: the initials 9A.

"Who was the second one?"

"the second one was paps. He was called 9B. gaster started the project in secret, 'cause really he just wanted to have kids of his own. he had a funny way of doing it, though. he got real paranoid, kept us locked away in the basement for years. it wasn't terribly bad, we had things to do, but it got boring sometimes. i remember once, I lashed out at him. gave him two marks on his face. one going up from his right eye, one going down from his left. we...didn't talk much after that."

Frisk shivered as he pictured the black mass holding Gaster's face. "I...I think I might have seen him."

"impossible. he's dead. ain't no way he could still be alive," Sans scoffed.

Frisk frowned. "How did you know?"

Sans looked him in the eye, sockets dark. "Because I saw him die. watched as he jumped right over the side of the catwalk into the CORE. hell, if alphys hadn't grabbed me, i would have fallen with him."

Frisk looked down, keeping his mouth shut. It was clear that Sans was quite upset about this.

"So...you and Papyrus have artificial souls."

"yep."

"So, then you _would_ know all about it! Think you can help us?"

"nope."

"Why?!"

Sans sat up. "kid, believe me. i tried everything to bring him back. after his death, paps and I moved to snowdin. i took all of gaster's journals with me, used all his science notes to try and replicate the experiments. but it just can't be done. i have tried, for _decades_. all the parameters are correct, but it just...doesn't...work. it's just too precise. if you ask me, that's why we're kind of messed up as it is. we were just flukes in a doomed project."

Frisk tried to reassure him, "Oh, come on, you're not messed up-"

Sans cut him off. "aren't we? look at me! i've got a condition that renders all of my stats crazy low! if i hit my head on a table by accident, that's it! sayonara! it takes a good chunk of my magic as it is to make sure i'm not killed by every stick that hits me! and then there's paps." He lowered his voice. "look, i love my brother. don't get me wrong. but you've got to see that he isn't the brightest one. he's mentally challenged. i'm telling you this in confidence, but did you know it took him nearly 4 months to finish a 30 page book? not because he was bored, but because he couldn't read it properly. that was a year _after_ gaster's death."

Frisk looked down, shuffling his feet uncomfortably. "Sorry...I didn't know."

The light returned to Sans's eyes as he sighed heavily. "s'okay. look, i really wish i could help bring asriel's old self back. I'd want nothing more for him. but it just can't be done. i'm sorry."

Frisk sighed. "Yeah, don't worry about it. I'll...tell Flowey about what you said. The impossible part I mean."

Sans nodded. "alright. i don't want to kick him when he's down, but i also don't want to give him false hope. now, i've got some of tori's pie she sent over yesterday, i don't think i'll be able to finish it off alone. want to help?"

Frisk giggled. "Oh, sure, I think I've got a little bit of time."

Sans chuckled nudging Frisk as they made their way to the kitchen.


	9. Chapter 9

Frisk's feet dragged behind him as he slowly walked back home, hands stuffed in his coat pockets. Thinking about how Flowey might take the news made him nervous. As he walked inside, he was immediately hit by a delicious smell coming from the kitchen. He walked to the kitchen, spotting Toriel over a pot.

"I'm home, Mom."

Toriel glanced over with a smile. "Oh! Welcome home, Frisk! Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes."

Frisk nodded. "How was the tutor?"

"I believe she and Flowey will get along well. She is very friendly, and Flowey seemed to have warmed up to her a little bit by the end of their visit. What did you go see Sans about?"

Frisk shrugged. "Nothing, just had a question to ask him," he mumbled.

Toriel paused, glancing back again before replying. "I see. Well, I hope you found your answer. Oh, Asgore is going to be coming for dinner tonight, just a heads up."

He nodded, heading upstairs. "Sounds good!" He wandered into his room, spotting Flowey on the nightstand where Toriel had placed him after their meeting. He closed the door before sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Well?" Flowey asked.

Frisk exhaled long and hard. "He told me about his...origins, how he worked on the experiments with Gaster, just about everything in his childhood."

Flowey looked hopeful. "Yeah! So he should be able to help us, right?"

Frisk was quiet. He noticed Flowey's hopeful smile rapidly fade as the silence drew on, then shook his head.

"No. He can't."

Flowey's face turned to one of disgust. "What?! Why not?!"

"He's _been_ trying to replicate the experiments, Flowey, he's been trying for decades he said! He just hasn't been able to do it. He said he really wanted to, but...it just can't be done. I'm sorry, but it looks like you might be stuck like this for a while."

Frisk ducked left as Flowey threw a pencil at him out of frustration. "GRAH! Just take that pencil and stab my stem or whatever until I'm dead then!"

Flowey picked up the pencil, then tucked it away in a drawer. "I'm not going to do that, Flowey."

"I'm an abomination, Frisk! I'm a freak! I didn't _ask_ to become this! I didn't _want_ to become this! I just want to be myself, or at least die so I can see Chara again!"

Frisk bit his lip hard, knowing that he wouldn't see Chara even if he died.

Soft knocking sounded at the door.

"Children? Is everything okay in there?" asked Toriel's muffled voice.

"Yeah, we're all good," Frisk called back.

"Good. Our company has arrived. Can you come down for dinner, please?"

"Yeah, we'll be right there!"

He picked up Flowey's pot, muttering under his breath, "We can continue talking about this later." He carried him downstairs towards the kitchen, placing him down on the table as Asgore pulled out a chair with Toriel across the table from him. He nodded at Frisk.

"Howdy, Frisk, Flowey."

Frisk smiled back, sitting down. "Hey, Asgore."

The four began to eat, though it was slow and in awkward silence. Five minutes passed, then ten, then fifteen before finally Toriel spoke up.

"How goes the politics?"

Asgore rubbed his eyes. "I will say one thing, diplomacy nowadays is much more...different than before the war. Before, you had kings speaking to each other. Now there are representatives...senators...it is overwhelming sometimes."

Toriel nodded. "Well, I believe you are able to cope with the stress."

"I hope you're right. I secured the transfer of the final monster artifacts out of Astren here to Reston, where they were to go into the museum earlier today, so I suppose that is one thing to check off my list."

Frisk put down his spoon, looking up. "Hey, just out of curiosity, what do the other world leaders think of you? Or just monsters in general? You're on the Prime Summit so you get to see them all in person right?"

Asgore nodded. "Most of the leaders are neutral...though there are a few I am still concerned about. Mainly the president of Vaerin. He is still...shall we say, reserved in his thoughts about us. I do not think he trusts us. Luckily though, we have people like Kara who are willing to help-"

He stopped as Flowey choked on a morsel at the name. He swallowed it down.

"Sorry er...what was that name?"

Asgore tilted his head curiously. "Kara? She is the president of Estines. Very lovely woman. She reminds me of you, Toriel."

Flowey calmed himself as he realized it was not the person he was thinking of. Toriel rolled her eyes at Asgore's remarks, returning to her food. The rest of the dinner passed in silence. At the end, Frisk looked between the two.

"Hey, are you two ever going to make up? For what happened? I mean, it was over 100 years ago!"

Asgore and Toriel met each other's eyes, but said nothing.

Asgore sighed. "It is...complicated, Frisk. There is a lot of history that I would rather not get into, and I am sure Toriel feels the same."

She nodded solemnly.

"Alright…" He mumbled, then stood up, taking both his and Flowey's dishes, laying them in the sink. "Thanks for dinner, Mom."

She nodded with closed eyes. "You are welcome, Frisk."

He picked up Flowey, walking back upstairs. He closed the door again, setting Flowey down.

"Hey, Flowey. You said you wanted to see Chara again, right?"

Flowey nodded. "Mhm…"

Frisk sighed. "Well...you won't get to if you die. She...didn't move on."

"What do you mean?"

Frisk racked his brain, trying to think of a way to explain it to him. "She...drifted. She didn't have enough Determination to reset, but she had too much to just… 'die' either. When I came around, she latched onto my soul. She's been a part of me ever since. We've...talked sometimes, I can hear her, and even respond to her. Sometimes I even see her when we're alone. Though nobody else can. It's like a projection just to me."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Frisk looked down. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to. After...what happened. But now that you said you do want to see her...well, I can't help you see her, but you can at least talk to her. Through me. She can hear you, and I can just echo what she says."

Flowey was now getting jittery. "Er...okay, I guess that can work."

Frisk sighed as he leaned back. "You hear that, partner?"

Chara's voice was quiet. "Yes. I heard it. How is he?"

"You know that already," Frisk muttered.

He glanced left, spotting Chara in a mirror, looking cross at him. "I wish to hear it from him."

Frisk turned to Flowey. "She wants to know how you've been doing."

"Terrible. It sucks being a flower."

He looked to the mirror, and saw her sympathetic gaze transfixed on Flowey, but Flowey continued before she could speak.

"Hey, Chara? There's always been something I wanted to ask you." There was a pause. "Why? In your plan? We agreed we would get enough souls to break the barrier. So...why did you want to kill them all? That wasn't our plan!"

Chara took a deep breath. "Because...humans were all bad back then. They all desired for a genocide of monsters. I believed the only way to prevent this was to kill them all first."

"Not all humans were bad, Chara...what about you? You were good!" Flowey huffed.

Chara was silent. Despite not being able to see or hear her, Flowey seemed to be able to tell she was not going to respond to this, so Flowey changed his question.

"What about now? Do you still want to destroy them all? Have you ever tried to talk Frisk into using his little power to help you?"

"Things are different now. I will not lie and say the thought has not crossed my mind. But. I can see now that certain humans are making an effort. So I have given them another chance. Could we...talk about something else? Please?"

Frisk finished echoing, and Flowey nodded, a smile forming. "Yeah...yeah, we can." And so the topic changed. The conversation continued as the light of day slowly faded from sight, yet still the talking continued, going late into the night. Frisk liked it though, especially when he saw the smile widen on Flowey's face, seeing a little bit of genuine happiness enter his friend's eyes.


	10. A Lost Hope

_**AUTHORS NOTE**_

**Hello! I'm noticing a few newer people starting to read these stories, so this is a message for the newer people, or thoer that may not know. Resurfacing is a part of a much larger AU known as Undertale: Chronicle, an AU spanning over 2,000 years worth of history. This is a project I have been working on since may of this year. At the moment, this is actually the latest story chronologically. I highly reccommend going back and reading the other stories in this AU in chronological order so you can have the full story. Currently there are 6 other stories present.**

**Catalyst**

**Internal Storms [WIP]**

**Sole Sufferer**

**Soulless [WIP]**

**Nothing Lost, No One Blamed**

**Armistice**

**Resurfacing [WIP]**

**I have also taken the liberty of renaming all the stories with the Undertale: Chronicle banner, and numbering them chronologically to help out. I also have an official wiki currently being worked on. Sadly, I cannot post the link to it here, as FF is extremely finicky with external links. But, a simple google search for the Undertale: Chronicle wiki should give you what you're looking for! Yes, it is on fandom. With that, I hope you continue to enjoy this AU of mine!**

**-Nolan**

* * *

The weeks crept along. Gradually, more and more leaves fell from the trees and the world grew browner and browner, until the ground was covered in a white blanket, the first signs of winter. December had rolled in, and the heater was now on full blast in Toriel's house, something Flowey greatly appreciated with his lack of ability to bundle up.

He sighed as he sat hunched over the little quiz, checking off little boxes left and right while his tutor watched. She had been working with him ever since October. While Flowey appreciated that somebody was willing to help him, he still hadn't found much joy in it. What was the point of learning things you already knew?

He continued to grumble under his breath as he reached the bottom of the page, then leaned over further to try and flip the paper over himself. His leaf was able to brush the page, but not overturn it. He threw the pencil across the kitchen .

"_SCREW THIS!_" He screamed. "I _HATE_ this! It's not _fun_, it's just _boring_!"

Lauren seemed completely unphased by the sudden outburst. "School, unfortunately, can be boring, Flowey, but it is a necessary part of life."

Flowey rolled his eyes. "No, not like that! I already _know_ all of this stuff! When I was stuck below that mountain, I read through every single book trying to fix myself!"

"Why would you need to fix yourself? I don't see anything wrong with you."

Flowey turned away, pouting. "Just forget it. You wouldn't understand. You can't _possibly_ begin to understand, you humans are just too _STUPID_ to get it!"

Lauren sighed. "Perhaps I am. Maybe I don't know the full story here. But I do know that you can find who you want to be inside you if you just dig deeper. I know I had to do that."

"Shut up, _shut up, SHUT UP!_ Why are you humans always so _NICE_?! Frisk, the prime minister, you?! Why?!"

Lauren now looked amused. "Well, do you want me to be mean to you? Because I can do that too if you want."

"Yes! I mean, no! I mean…" His voice began to trail off. "I...I don't know…" He leaned forward, sniffling.

Lauren patted the back of his head comfortingly. "You've had it particularly rough, huh?"

He nodded.

Lauren thought for a moment before taking the quiz away. "We'll worry about this later. You know, when you feel down, it often helps to talk about it with a friend. I can be a friend for you now if you want."

"Don't bother. I only had one friend. And...she's not around anymore."

Lauren's smile vanishing solemnly. "I'm sorry to hear that. Surely though, you have other friends? What about Frisk and Toriel? They both took you into their home. I've seen Frisk helping you out in many ways. Do you not see them as friends?"

Flowey shrugged grudgingly, not wanting to admit that she was right.

"I guess...Papyrus too...but he's not really around anymore. He's always busy with that search and rescue thing," he finally muttered.

Lauren's soft smile returned. "There you go! See, you do have people who care about you. Now, who else do you think might see you as a friend?"

* * *

Toriel sighed as she walked up the front steps, grocery bags in hand. Frisk grunted as he lugged one up behind her. The school had been closed due to snow, so Toriel figured she'd get her shopping done early. They walked both inside and headed to the kitchen, where they were surprised to see Lauren and Flowey talking. They paused as they entered.

"Lauren! I thought you would have gone home hours ago!" Toriel said.

"I normally would have, but we've decided to take some extra time to help try and cheer him up. Having a bad day."

"I understand," Toriel nodded.

Lauren stood up from her chair. "If I may, can I speak to you alone?"

"Yes, of course!"

Seeing they needed the space, Frisk took Flowey out of the house. They had something to do anyway. Toriel took a seat in Flowey's place.

"He's really struggling. Academically, he's excellent. Passing all his courses with flying colours. It's like he already knows the material. But I'm concerned about him, emotionally."

Toriel sighed heavily. "I have been worried as well. You are aware of the reason he is schooling from home in the first place, I do not believe I have ever seen a smile on him. I have been really worried about his condition ever since he returned."

"Might I advise counselling? As much as I would like to help cheer him up, I lack the skills and the degree to do so. From the sounds of it, he's had a very unusual and complex life, one that has kept him in a downward spiral from as far back as I can remember."

"I wish I could, but we do not have any monster therapists. The only one we did have died over fifteen years ago."

The tutor's soft smile returned. "I have a friend I can put you in touch with. We go a long way back. I could even see if I can negotiate getting at least some free sessions with him, if you want?"

Toriel smiled back. "That would be excellent. I can not thank you enough."

"Hey, it's a hard world. We've got to look out for each other, right?"

"I think that just might be the understatement of the century. Oh, I have some leftover pie you can have for your troubles."

Lauren laughed at the response as Toriel went to fetch the pie from the fridge.

* * *

The snow slowed Frisk's pace as he neared Alphys's house, walking up the front steps. He knocked on the door. Flowey's expression looked numb.

"You cold?" Frisk asked.

Flowey shook his head. "Just thinking."

Frisk nodded slowly, then looked up as Alphys opened the door. From the look on her face, he knew right away it would not be good news.

"I-I'm sorry Frisk...Flowey...I-I have tried everything. I t-t-took the sample, and p-put it through every single m-machine I could think of, ran every f-feasible experiment, I-I even turned to some of my c-c-colleagues for assistance. I...I-It can't be done! I-I am so...so sorry."

"It's alright. You...you tried your best. Thanks at least for taking the effort. It's a lot more than...some _other_ people would do," Flowey mumbled.

Frisk winced, feeling pity for the flower. He turned away from the door, waving goodbye. "Sorry to bother you Alphys. And yeah, thanks for trying, but if it can't be done, it's not your fault."

Relief was evident on Alphys' face. "S-S-See you soon!"

Frisk looked down to Flowey as they began walking back home. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"Your response. That was surprisingly...tame for you."

"I was already expecting it. Look, Frisk, I appreciate what you've been doing. But if it can't be done, it can't be done. I've already kind of accepted it anyway."

Frisk sighed heavily. "I just wish I could do something more, you know? You don't deserve to be like this-"

"Hey. I said don't worry about it. I'm...used to it by now."

Frisk simply nodded as they continued back home.

"Christmas is coming up...anything in particular you want?"

Flowey shook his head. "Don't bother getting me anything. Nothing you give me will bring my emotions back. I'll be fine."

"If you say so…" He glanced down as he saw Flowey shiver as a gust of frigid air blew against them. He took off his scarf, wrapping it around Flowey's stem. The flower looked up at him, giving a single nod of thank you as they continued the journey home.


	11. The Christmas Present

Christmas Day. It was one of Frisk's favourite holidays. All the presents had been opened earlier that day. Despite Flowey's request to not get him anything, Toriel had gotten him a new case of pencil crayons. Flowey pretended not to like it, but Frisk doubted he was being honest with that, considering he had been doing nothing but draw since they had returned to his room.

Sans and Papyrus had come by in the morning to wish them a happy holiday, and Undyne had the day off. Alphys had given them a phone call, though she had said she would be too busy to rest. Asgore had offered to take the day off as well, and was presently hanging around for the day with Toriel. Frisk leaned back in his bed, turning another page in the new book he had gotten, something he had greatly looked forward to reading.

He glanced up as someone knocked on his door.

"Frisk? A package has arrived for you."

Flowey looked up, obviously curious, so Frisk took Flowey with, leaving his drawing on the table. They walked past Toriel, heading downstairs. Frisk put Flowey down in the living room, and he strained to hear him talking with whoever was at the door.

"Everything went okay?"

"Yeah, cleaned and polished just like you asked," a second voice replied.

As Frisk continued to talk, Toriel walked into the living room quickly. She now looked quite distressed as she went to Flowey, holding up his drawing.

"What is this?!"

Flowey's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. Frisk walked back in, stopping when he too saw the drawing. It was a family drawing, back when Flowey was more...himself.

"I…"

"Answer me, Flowey! How did you know my children?! Did you have something to do with their deaths?!" Toriel's voice grew louder.

Asgore walked in when he heard Toriel growing more and more distressed.

Frisk sighed as he looked down to Flowey. "You may as well, Flowey...remember what I told you when I first took you up?"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I know. Listen, can I just...do it with only them around?"

Frisk nodded with a soft smile. "Yeah. Sure." He slowly left the room, leaving Asgore and Toriel staring down at him.

Flowey heaved a large sigh, formulating his words before he spoke.

"I'm...I _used_ to be Asriel."

Toriel gawked at him in disbelief, and Asgore stuttered as he shook his head. "I...I-I don't think we understand…"

Flowey refused to meet their gaze. "When I died, my dust spread across the flowerbed. Asgore, er...Dad, when you ordered the DT experiments, Gaster took one of the flowers my dust had landed on. When he injected it with Determination, it fused with my dust, almost...reincarnating me into this flower."

Toriel shook her head, her eyes watering. "W-Why?! Why didn't y-you say anything?!"

Flowey's breath shook. "I-I...It's complicated...w-when I was...reborn, I wasn't born w-with a soul. I was scared. I didn't know what was happening. I first went to you, Asgore. I told you what happened. Then, I tried to find you, Mom."

Asgore held out a hand to stop him. "Flowey...er...Asriel...if you had come to me so soon after...the incident, I am certain we would have remembered!"

"I'm getting there!" He snarled, then took a moment to calm himself down before continuing.

"But, something was wrong. Like, something was really..._really_ wrong. I couldn't...feel, anything. I couldn't feel love, I couldn't feel sorrow, I couldn't feel anything. Because I didn't have a soul to express emotion with. I…" His lip quivered as a tear formed in his eyes. "I couldn't love you guys! I tried so hard, I tried everything! But I just couldn't love you! So, I tried to end it myself. Again. But when I tried...I realized, I didn't want to die. So, I...came back. Reset in a sense." He saw they were both helplessly confused. "It's what you can do if you have enough Determination in your soul. You can change the past. So, I woke up again right after my reincarnation. Everything went downhill from there."

He looked up at both of them, starting to break down. "I-I killed you! I killed, _both_ of you! I killed Alphys, I killed Papyrus, I killed Gerson, I killed _everyone_! And I didn't feel bad about it! I felt excited! I felt HAPPY that I did that! I became a horrible creature, a parasite! And every time, I would reset, and then do it again! I would torment all of you until you had no hope, then I would bring it all back to have fun destroying it again!"

Asgore's mouth hung agape as all the secrets from so many decades came pouring out.

"Every time a human showed up, I would toy with them, over, and over, and toy with all of you again, just because I could! Just because I felt like it! When I got bored, I would bring it all back and let time move on! I've killed all of you countless times, I have lived through _countless_ endings!"

Toriel's voice was shaky as a tear ran down her cheek, and even Asgore was struggling to keep himself composed.

"W-Why did you stop?"

Flowey glanced to the kitchen where Frisk waited for the conversation to finish. "H-Him. He stole my power from me. Not intentionally...b-but somehow he did. Then when he came down, he showed me there was still a better way. One that he h-hoped I would follow. When the barrier was destroyed...that was m-me. I had absorbed the human souls, and the souls of all the monsters in the Underground, too. I tried to kill him over, and over, and over...but he just...wouldn't...die! He brought out Asriel again. In the midst of all that darkness, he brought out the final piece of Asriel left. They destroyed the barrier, and freed all of you."

Asgore was now in tears as the full realization slammed into him like a truck. "Why did you not come with us to the surface? Why stay hidden all this time?"

"How could I?!" Flowey wailed. "After what I did?! Slaughtering you all like feral animals?! How could you possibly look at me the same way now that you know all of this?!" He leaned forward, sniffling. "You probably hate me…"

Toriel cupped Flowey's petals, lifting his head to look at them. "Asriel...m-my child...no matter what you have done...no matter what you want to do...you are still our son. We will always love you, no matter how bad you were. Nothing in the world can change this."

Flowey brushed her hand off with a petal. "I'm not your son. He's...He died all those years ago. I'm just a husk of what he used to be. So please, don't call me Asriel. I'm not, him."

Toriel looked heartbroken, but she still held his gaze. "Can...we at least say goodbye to our son? Properly?"

Flowey nodded, rubbing his eyes with one of his leaves. His voice choked, "Yeah. I guess you can."

Toriel and Asgore leaned close, trying to hug Flowey as best as they could. Admittedly it was a little bit awkward, but Flowey didn't mind. Frisk slowly walked back into the room, holding a wrapped box in his hands, the package that had been dropped off. He smiled at all of them, knowing full well of what had happened.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you myself. It...wasn't my secret to tell."

Asgore shook his head. "I am glad you didn't, Frisk. This was a secret we needed to here from the one who bore it."

As they stood up, Frisk walked closer. "Hey, Flowey...somebody just delivered my present for you. They were just polishing it up for me. You want to head upstairs and we can open it together?"

Flowey nodded, waving goodbye to Toriel and Asgore. The two left them to discuss the revelation while Frisk carried his friend upstairs to the room, closing the door. He set it down with Flowey on the desk, and helped him to open it up. Flowey's mouth dropped open when he saw the contents.

Inside the box, sat two, golden, heart-shaped lockets. Engraved on the faces of each, were the words "BEST FRIENDS FOREVER". Flowey stared up at Frisk in shock.

"Is that…"

Frisk nodded. "The original friendship lockets Chara gave to you so long ago."

Flowey leaned forward, looking closer at them. "How? How did you even find these?"

Frisk tapped his forehead. "Let's just say, I had a little bit of help, from a friend that still really cares about you."

Flowey looked over, a joyous smile spreading along his face. "I...I-I…" He broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Frisk pulled his pot close, letting Flowey cry on his shoulder. He still held his smile, though he too had tears in his eyes. If there was one thing he knew helped one feel better, it was a good cry. Soul, or soulless. When Flowey started to grow quiet, Frisk set him back down.

"Merry Christmas, Flowey." Flowey gazed down at the lockets, as Chara's voice echoed the happy wish.


	12. On Borrowed Time

The footsteps echoed around the cavern walls, the only light illuminating from the skull-like creature floating beside the hooded skeleton. Sans took his hands out of his pockets as he continued to gaze around the walls at the many ancient writings covering the faces. His gaster blaster held its mouth open, unused magic lighting the otherwise black hallways.

The old ruins fascinated him. There was so much untapped knowledge. A shame there was no way to translate it. Every language he had tried had failed, but he had never stopped persisting. It had become a sort of obsession for him, to find out what secrets lay here. He came to a stop in front of the angel.

The angel, a combination of human and monster as far as he could tell. Eagle-like wings spread out behind it, yet it had the head and body of a human. Magic flowed along the angel's arms and legs, portrayed brilliantly by the ancient paintings. The blaster always seemed a little unsettled by the imagery, and it gave the smallest of whimpers. Sans patted its nose.

He still didn't understand the blasters himself. He knew they were a part of him. They were created by him, yet they also seemed to be their own separate entities. They seemed to have their own consciousness. It puzzled him. Perhaps they reflected what his soul felt.

He turned away, walking further down the hallway, to another carving in the wall. The Riverperson, clearly engraved. No face beneath the hood. He shook his head as right beside the Riverperson stood what had to be Asgore. There was no question about it, it was a spitting image of him. He turned around, coming face-to-face with two of the most peculiar sights.

One, was the portrayal of a skeleton with two cracks running along its skull. Gaster. It had to be. Nobody else he knew in history had such a distinct look. Gaster's smile in the image was somewhat creepy, though maybe that was due in part to the fact that Sans had never seen the scientist smile much.

Then beside this, a human. A human child. This, he still was unsure who it could be. Originally, he thought maybe it would be Chara. It was clear now, this was not the case. Perhaps Frisk? There was no way to tell.

He stepped back, looking around at it all, shivering as an invisible chill ran through him.

"What do you all mean…?" Decades. Over a century he had spent trying to unravel the secrets. From what he could piece together, something big was imminent, but he was unsure of what. At first, he believed it would be the destruction of the barrier, but even after this was achieved, something still felt off. That would not be the big event. There was still something else.

The blaster clamped its mouth shut, letting out a low, quiet snarl as its eyes darted to the doorway. Sans heard the footsteps a moment after. He snapped his fingers, the blaster disappearing from sight before he ducked behind a pillar by the wall.

Two flashlight beams illuminated the room. He dared to peek for a look, spotting two human archaeologists exploring. He quickly ducked back, starting to grow anxious. He knew the discovery of the Ruins was inevitable, but he didn't realize they would find it so soon! The beams danced along the walls as they gazed around. One beam fell upon the angel, and one of the men spoke.

"Hey, Dan?"

Dan turned around, spotting the angel.

"Whoa…"

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly."

"Sends shivers down your spine, huh Trever?"

"Sure does."

They continued to look around, gazing at the many pictures and ancient words on the wall.

"What language do you think this is all in? Latin? Coptic?"

Trever took a device from his pocket, holding it up to one of the writings. He took a picture, before looking down. Dan shone his flashlight at the screen, the device beeping at them.

"It doesn't match any known language, dead or alive. Your guess is as good as mine," Trever shrugged. "Who do you reckon built this place?"

Dan's beam of light fell on the pillar Sans was hiding behind. "Monsters, obviously. Looks like they've been here for centuries though. Definitely from before the war."

Sans held his breath as Dan grew closer.

"Well, why didn't they tell us about it?" Trever called.

Dan shrugged. "I mean, I guess it's possible they didn't know about it either…"

"But...if this is in a secret language only monsters can read...they might be hiding something."

Utter silence.

Sans didn't dare to exhale, or move a muscle. You could have heard a pin drop.

"Let's get back up to the surface, then bring more of the team down here. We've got to make copies of everything, and get it up to the surface. Something's important about this place, I want to know what."

"_You and me both…"_ the thought bounced around in Sans's skull. The archaeologists left, and Sans stepped out of his hiding place, starting to make his own leave. He cast one last look at the angel. He wasn't sure what all of this meant. But, he was sure of one thing. They were running out of time.

* * *

_**AUTHORS NOTE**_

**A storm brews on the horizon. Soon, more conflict will rise. But this time, there may not be a happy ending...**


End file.
